Brands have always leaned heavily on technology. One might even say that brands owe their very existence to technology. After all, television, radio and print are what created mass brands in the first place. In the early days, we didn’t need to know how these analog systems worked or how to get the most out of them. Much like the computer you’re reading this on now, it didn’t require a technical degree to use it.
Today, technology is infiltrating every corner of our lives and with it has come an explosion of new interaction points with consumers. Clearly, our understanding of how technology works and how to use it as marketers must evolve. And in a dramatic way.
No longer can we get by without understanding the inner workings of these interrelated systems. We need to know how to customize and manipulate the many diverse parts to best fit our unique consumers and our unique brands. To be successful, we have to think more like programmers and less like users. Traditional media, social media, mobile media, web media, websites, blogs, CRM, SEO, SEM and everything new and exciting lurking around the corner must be mastered and programmed in order to see its true potential. And we haven’t even scratched the surface.
Every technology has a precise purpose and a particular effect. Each touch-point influences and appeals to very different groups of consumers. We now have the ability to program and optimize this vast network of technologies and media in our favor. To test out and prove what truly impacts sales, awareness, loyalty and short and long term growth. To eliminate waste and redundancy and track how every penny we spend drives consumer action.
To succeed in this increasingly complex, technology-laden world, we must be world-class hackers, manipulating data and technology to our own benefit.
Take advantage of this immense power and use it wisely to the peril of your competition.
